SINGAPORE, Oct 21 (Reuters) – Asian shares tracked Wall Street lower on Friday while Treasury yields scaled 14-year highs as the prospect of aggressive interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve and recession risks soured investor sentiment.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) was down 0.55% but above the two-and-a-half year low it touched on Thursday. Australia’s resources-heavy share index (.AXJO) lost 0.74%, while Japan’s Nikkei (.N225) opened 0.38% lower.

China’s stock market (.SSEC) opened 0.1% higher on Friday. Xi Jinping, set to clinch a third five-year term as China’s leader, will reveal the members of its elite Politburo Standing Committee at the conclusion of the twice-a-decade congress on Sunday.

“It’s all so tenuous… the problem is the macro environment still remains difficult,” said Shane Oliver, chief economist at AMP Capital, adding that the market is in a tug of war between investors who see opportunities and those who are focused on the difficult environment.

Also weighing on the market were remarks from Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Patrick Harker that suggested the central bank will “keep raising rates for a while.”

U.S. economic data on Thursday showing persistent labor tightness also added to investor angst. U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury yields to as much as 4.234%, its highest level since June 2008.

“It really is the U.S. bond show that drives broad markets and while liquidity is an issue, talk is there are just no buyers,” said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone.

Global markets have been extremely volatile recently as investors have worried that major economies will be pushed into recessions before inflation is tamed, while a strong dollar as the Fed tightens aggressively would wreak havoc in emerging markets.

In the currency market, sterling dipped lower as investors digested the news that British Prime Minister Liz Truss had quit after just six weeks in office. The pound was last trading at $1.1205, down 0.25% on the day. /FRX

Truss’ resignation surprised no-one and was met with little market reaction given the wholesale abandonment of her policies by the finance minister, said Tapas Strickland, head of market economics at National Australia Bank. The Japanese yen hovered near a fresh 32-year low, and last traded at 150.20 per dollar. The currency first weakened past the symbolic 150 level late Thursday afternoon in Tokyo.

Fresh threats of intervention made by Japanese policymakers have kept investors on high alert, although there has been no news of further action since the Ministry of Finance’s dollar-selling, yen-buying intervention last month.

With Japan’s core consumer inflation rate accelerating to a fresh eight-year high of 3.0% in September, the data underscores the dilemma the Bank of Japan faces as it tries to underpin a weak economy by maintaining ultra-low interest rates, which in turn are fuelling an unwelcome slide in the yen.

Meanwhile, gold prices were set for a second weekly decline.

Reporting by Ankur Banerjee; Editing by Lincoln Feast

NEW YORK, Oct 18 (Reuters) – Wall Street stocks closed higher and Treasury yields dipped on Tuesday as upbeat earnings and better-than-expected factory data stoked a risk-on rally.

Building on Monday’s broad gains, the S&P 500 led the major U.S. stock indexes higher to end the session up nearly 1% or more, with sectors across the board advancing. Meanwhile benchmark Treasury yields were last lower, having oscillated throughout the day.

“The market was a bit oversold leading into Monday, and people were worried of what was going to happen over the weekend. People walked into the week feeling a little better,” said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth in Fairfield, Conn. “You’re getting a combination of short covering and fear of missing out.”

Better-than-expected quarterly results from Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) and Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) set the tone, with robust industrial output data providing signs of economic strength even as central banks tighten monetary policy to tackle inflation.

The belief that “a recession is coming and the Fed is going to be raising interest rates, with the hope that maybe a pause is going to be coming something next year,” is now baked into the market, Pavlik said. “Without all that weight, the market can rise higher after being sold off.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) rose 337.98 points, or 1.12%, to 30,523.8, the S&P 500 (.SPX) gained 42.04 points, or 1.14%, to 3,719.99 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) added 96.60 points, or 0.9%, to 10,772.40. Monday’s policy reversal from British finance minister Jeremy Hunt’s continued to buoy investor sentiment.

European shares extended their policy U-turn rally – with an assist from the tech sector – to close modestly higher on the day. The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) rose 0.34% and MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) gained 1.13%. Emerging market stocks rose 1.50%. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) closed 1.55% higher, while Japan’s Nikkei (.N225) rose 1.42%.

Treasury yields wavered throughout the session, but had edged lower by the closing bell. The benchmark 10-year note yield was last at 3.9922%, from 4.015% late on Monday. The 30-year bond last rose 1/32 in price to yield 4.0142%, from 4.015% late on Monday.

The British pound dipped after surging nearly 2% on Monday, which propped up the greenback against a basket of world currencies, but the dollar was last essentially flat, its gains held in check by risk-on investor sentiment. The dollar index rose 0.02%, with the euro up 0.17% to $0.9855.

The Japanese yen weakened 0.12% versus the greenback at 149.22 per dollar, while sterling was last trading at $1.1327, down 0.23% on the day. Crude prices dropped on fears of higher U.S. stockpiles and signs of waning global demand.

U.S. crude slid 3.09% to settle at $82.82 per barrel, while Brent settled at $90.03 per barrel, down 1.74% on the day. The unchanged dollar helped support gold’s nominal gain. Spot gold added 0.1% to $1,650.94 an ounce.

Reporting by Stephen Culp; additional reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft in London; Editing by Alison Williams, Will Dunham and Deepa Babington

Oct 12 (Reuters) – Think about something novel you started doing two-and-a-half years ago to make life easier during the COVID lockdown and chances today are that there is a related story about a stock market casualty.

Add investor worries about soaring inflation and an economic slowdown that tipped Wall Street into a bear market this year, and you will find a bleak picture for the companies that became hugely popular during the pandemic.

Connected stationary bike maker Peloton Interactive (PTON.O) told employees last week that its fourth round of job cuts this year is a bid to save the company. Its problems put a spotlight on other pandemic hot-shots like Zoom Video Communications (ZM.O), Nautilus Inc (NLS.N), DocuSign Inc (DOCU.O) and DoorDash Inc (DASH.N).

Growth investors pushed Peloton stock to a $171.09 record in early 2021. Demand was so strong for its bikes that restless consumers had to wait out long delivery delays. But Peloton shares are now down 95% from their peak, closing at $8.53 on Wednesday. The S&P 500 (.SPX) by comparison is down about 25% from its record high in January this year.

Suedzucker quarterly profits surge, sees higher full-year earnings
Others bought exercize gear from Nautilus during the pandemic, sending its stock up to $31.30 in early 2021. It last traded at $1.65. Zoom became synonymous with online meetings as many people worked remotely and even turned to video conferences for social gatherings. But Zoom’s shares were last at $75.22 versus its $588.84 peak, reached in October 2020.

Other stay-at-home favorites were online retailer Amazon.com (AMZN.O) and food delivery service DoorDash . People also flocked to consumer-friendly brokers like Robinhood Markets (HOOD.O) while stuck at home with no sports to bet on. But after scaling $85 in August 2021, Robinhood last traded at $10.66.

“These are companies with good enough ideas that they get enough funding. They catch a wave like COVID, their use explodes,” said Kim Forrest, chief investment officer at Bokeh Capital Partners in Pittsburgh. But once that growth slows, investors lose interest.

“They kind of used up all the air in their universe, and they have nowhere to grow. So, while people might still be using the Peloton, not enough people are buying the Peloton,” said Forrest.

Daniel Morgan, portfolio manager at Synovus Trust in Atlanta, Georgia, says Peloton may appear cheap, but he is wary because it is not profitable. Its price-to-sales multiple has fallen to 0.8, on a trailing 4-quarter basis, from an average multiple of 6.6 since it went public in Sept. 2019, Morgan said.

Wall Street expects Peloton to report an adjusted loss per share of $2.07 for its fiscal year ending in June compared with a loss of $7.69 in its fiscal year 2022, according to Refinitiv. Zoom has been making money and its valuation also appears cheap at 35 times earnings per share versus an average multiple of 135 since its April 2019 debut, Morgan said.

Still, he is concerned about its profit decline. Zoom’s adjusted earnings per share is expected to fall 27% for its fiscal year ending in January versus 2022 growth of 55.5%, according to Refinitiv. Morgan also pointed to a growth slowdown for DoorDash and retail giant Amazon.com as they are also being hurt by soaring inflation and economic uncertainty.

“Each company is going to have to see how their particular business model can execute in a normalized environment,” he said.

Carol Schleif, deputy chief investment officer at BMO’s family office in Minneapolis, cautioned against investing in companies that look cheap and have loyal customers. It’s all about management, balance sheets and projected income, she said. While one possible outcome for pandemic favorites with slowing growth could be a buyout by a larger company, Schleif is wary of making this bet.

“Buying a stock because you think it’s going to get taken out, that’s a risk. I wouldn’t be willing to do it with any money I wasn’t willing to lose,” she said. “It’s not really investing. It’s more opportunistic.

Reporting By Sinéad Carew, Lance Tupper and Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Alden Bentley and Richard Pullin

NEW YORK/LONDON, Oct 10 (Reuters) – The MSCI global index of stocks (.MIWD00000PUS) lost ground in a volatile session on Monday while the dollar gained slightly as investors braced for high inflation data and the start of corporate earnings season. Oil futures sold off and Wall Street’s stock indexes were volatile, while U.S. bond markets were closed for a federal holiday.

Weighing on investors was also a Russian missile attack on Ukraine that killed civilians and knocked out power and heat in cites across the country. President Vladimir Putin said he had ordered “massive” long range strikes after an attack on the bridge linking Russia to the annexed Crimean peninsula over the weekend, and threatened more strikes in future if Ukraine hits Russian territory.

U.S. investors, anxious about rising interest rates and signs of economic weakness, were also cautious ahead of inflation data due out Thursday and the start of the third-quarter earnings season on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) Chief Executive Jamie Dimon told CNBC the United States and the global economy could tip into a recession by mid-2023.

Then Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard said tighter U.S. monetary policy had begun to be felt in an economy that may be slowing faster than expected, but that the full interest rate increases would not be apparent for months.

China tech shares sink as U.S. export curbs raise chip sector hurdles
“There’s nothing specific in Brainard’s comments that makes you say the Fed is changing its policy but there’s at least some signs that the Fed is not proceeding blindly on a rate hiking restrictive path,” said Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers in Greenwich, Connecticut.

“Dimon’s comments definitely didn’t help. A lackluster downward market didn’t need those comments. They’ve been balanced out somewhat by Brainard.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) fell 93.91 points, or 0.32%, to 29,202.88; the S&P 500 (.SPX) lost 27.27 points, or 0.75%, at 3,612.39; and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) dropped 110.30 points, or 1.04%, to 10,542.10.

Nasdaq led the declines and registered its lowest closing level since July 2020 as chip stocks sold off sharply on the Biden administration’s sweeping set of export controls published on Friday, including a measure to cut off China from certain semiconductors made with U.S. equipment.

Wall Street had already declined on Friday after an upbeat September jobs report cemented expectations for another large rate hike. Four of the biggest U.S. banks are due to report earnings on Friday, with large lenders expected to post lower profits as the economy slowed and volatile markets stifled dealmaking.

The MSCI All-World index (.MIWD00000PUS) ended down 1.0% in its fourth straight day of losses. The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) had closed down 0.4% after skimming one-week lows. Emerging market stocks (.MSCIEF) lost 1.4%.

Chicago Fed President Charles Evans also said on Monday that U.S. Fed officials were closely aligned on the need to raise the target policy rate to around 4.5% by early next year, unless data upends current projections.

Minutes of the Fed’s last policy meeting will be published this week and could offer clues on rate-setters’ thinking about future monetary policy. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, rose 0.3%. The Japanese yen weakened 0.25% versus the greenback at 145.70 per dollar, while sterling traded at $1.1057, down 0.24% on the day.

The Bank of England sought to ease concerns about this week’s expiry of its program designed to calm turmoil in the government bond market, announcing new safety-net measures including a doubling of the maximum size of its debt buybacks.

Even though U.S. bond markets were closed on Monday, Matthew Miskin, co-chief investment strategist of John Hancock investment management based in Boston, said the UK news was not helping the U.S. stock market. “It looks like an ongoing spillover from the bond market into the equity market continues this week,” said Miskin, adding to expectations for a high inflation reading later this week.

Investors are betting “the Fed’s not going to be able to back down until inflation comes down,” he said. Oil prices sank by nearly 2%, after five straight sessions of gains, as investors feared economic storm clouds could foreshadow a global recession and erode fuel demand. U.S. crude fell $1.51 to $91.13 per barrel while Brent settled at $96.19, down $1.73. Spot gold dropped 1.5% to $1,669.28 an ounce. U.S. gold futures fell 1.89% to $1,668.40 an ounce.

Reporting by Sinead Carew in New York and Amanda Cooper in London Additional reporting by Wayne Cole in Sydney Editing by Matthew Lewis, Alistair Bell and Richard Chang